From Beneath
by raldbthar
Summary: After facing down dragons, ancient vampires, the first Dragonborn, a resurrected Akaviri warrior and a man empowered by a god, Naspia, the Dragonborn has managed to keep from drawing a weapon, casting a spell or Shouting for over a year. As a new peace begins to descend upon Skyrim, however, an old evil attempts to resurface from a world below. Rated M for violent reasons.
1. A Well Deserved Rest

The air near Lakeview Manor had a gentle nip to it, cold enough for one to know winter's chill was coming but not so much that one needed to bundle up in furs. A salmon swam among others through the cold rushing waters seeking out food among the rocks. It looked up, seeing a worm floating downstream and began to ride the current toward it.

As the salmon closed on its meal it gave the worm a quick nibble, testing to see if it were some sort of trick. When the worm did nothing but thrash about the salmon opened its maw and brought its meal in.

* * *

"Gotcha!" A small red headed woman cried triumphantly as she wrenched a fishing pole toward herself, hauling a large salmon out of the water. "Akonus, come look!"

A black haired man, clearly not a native of Skyrim, or anywhere else in Tamriel, glanced over with a smirk as he pushed up the wide, flat dome shaped straw hat on his head. He watched as the young woman struggled to grab a hold of the slippery fish before it flopped its way back into the water. When she finally got it her boots were soaked and the slimy fish oils splotched her light fur shirt but a victorious grin stretched across her lips as she set the fish down on the ground, next to a pile of smaller salmon.

"So I've caught the most so far, but you've definitely caught the largest." Akonus said as he pulled his line out of the water, another average sized salmon flailing at the end of the line.

"Mhm!" The red head replied, her great joy obvious on her face as she looked down at the set of fish. Akonus had pulled no less than eight, counting the last one out, of the water but hers was easily twice the size of all the others. "You think this will be enough?"

"Naspia, how many people are you trying to feed?" Akonus asked as he set the last fish down.

"Just the four of us." Naspia replied with a shrug. "But Lydia can eat a lot and Hail is getting big."

"He's still just a puppy." Akonus pointed out with a smirk as he pulled a straw basket closer to set the gasping salmon into. "And I don't think Lydia would appreciate you saying she can 'eat a lot'."

"Well she can!" The red head replied, crossing her arms. "I'm not saying she's getting flabby or anything. Her arms are bigger than yours! I'm just saying she needs more food than less active people."

Akonus chuckled and shook his head as he hefted the basket onto his shoulders. He turned to begin heading back to the house but a small hand latched onto his arm. He turned and Naspia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Akonus narrowed his eyes at her as he face flushed just slightly red.

"Don't give me that look." Naspia said with a grin as she walked past him, heading to their home. Akonus sighed and followed her to the trail. "It's not a public display of affection if no one is around."

"My people would still find it unbecoming." Akonus retorted with a laugh.

"Your people are starting to sound boring." Naspia teased, picking up a twig form the ground and throwing it at Akonus with a smirk. "You know what that was? A stick in the mud, just like you."

"I look nothing like that." Akonus replied, causing Naspia to roll her eyes and shake her head.

* * *

"Where is he?" Naspia called out, raising the pitch in her voice as she approached her home. "Where is my handsome man?"

A high pitched bark echoed through the air as a half grown white wolf bounded from the steps of Lakeview Manor to greet Naspia and Akonus. The red head knelt down and laughed as Hail stood on his hind legs and put his paws on her shoulders, licking at her face.

"Okay, okay enough kisses." She said and Hail hopped off of her to prop himself up on Akonus' legs. Akonus bent down and ruffled the hair on the wolf's head, making a little growling noise that riled it up. Hail hopped back and forth, barking at Akonus and then sat down, wagging his tail as he watched the two of them make their way to the door. Naspia opened it and looked back at him, tapping her foot on the porch. "Inside, Hail."

The wolf jumped up and ran inside past the two of them and wandered off. A tall, dark haired Nord woman stood up and went to grab the basket for Akonus but he shook his head.

"I can manage to the kitchen, Lydia." He told her with a laugh. Lydia had never been fond of Akonus being around. It wasn't that she didn't like him as a person, but he swore himself to Naspia, just as Lydia was sworn to her. "But thank you."

"Fine, just don't spill fish guts everywhere." Lydia replied as he walked off. "So how was the fishing, my Thane?"

"It was wonderful." Napsia replied with a smile as she removed her furs, leaving only a thin wool shirt on. "Akonus caught all but one of the fish. But you should see mine! It's twice as big as any of his!"

"Well done." Lydai said with a laugh at the red head's excitement. "So that's twice now the Dragonborn has bested the Akaviri."

"Lydia!" Napsia exclaimed with a laugh, smacking her housecarl's armored shoulder. Lydia chuckled and went into the kitchen to help Akonus with the fish while Naspia knelt down, playing with Hail. "Who's my handsome man? You are!"

As Lydia walked into the kitchen she saw Akonus had already begun busying himself with gutting the largest of the fish, which had been accurately described as twice the size of the others. Lydia grabbed another of the fish out of the basket and began cutting it open alongside the Akaviri.

"So, no lessons today?" She asked, simply making small talk.

"Actually, the lesson was to find enjoyment out of smaller things in life." Akonus replied as he tossed the innards of the massive salmon into a pale. "Becoming stronger is always good, but if one doesn't learn to enjoy the simplicity life has to offer, then they risk falling down a darker path."

"So you took her fishing to keep her from becoming a conqueror?" Lydia asked sarcastically.

"Yes."

* * *

All was quiet at Fort Snowhawk, as usual. Trinbjol Swift-Hawk shifted lightly in his light armor, still having to get used to the new design of it. Ever since the battle of Windhelm the Imperial Legion garrisoned in Skyrim had formed a new understanding with the Stormcloaks. As part of the peace treaty that was signed with the Dragonborn watching over, the Stormcloaks were officially told that they still had to deny Talos as a Divine, but the Thalmor were also forced out of Skyrim, to keep hostilities from reigniting.

Though the Stormcloaks still flew their own banner they were now allied with the Legion which was all well and good, but to Trinbjol the new armor was uncomfortable and he thought it looked ridiculous.

"Quit your fidgetting, boy." Snarled Leif Hammer-Hand, the commander of Fort Snohawk. "You're making me nervous."

"Sorry." Trinjol replied. "It's just colder than a draugr's heart and this damned armor has no fur to it at all."

"Aye, I don't much like it myself." Leif replied. "But we can't..."

"Sir!" One of the guards shouted from inside the wall. "Sir, there's something you need to see!"

"Bandits?" Leif demanded, his sword arm itching to swing out.

"No, it's inside, in the dungeons." The guard replied.

"Very well." He replied with a bored sigh and nodded to Trinbjol. "Keep a sharp eye, lad."

"Of course, sir." Trinbjol replied and turned his attention back out into the wilderness. His curiosity began to plague him as he stood vigil, unable to help but wonder what could have gone wrong in the dungeons. They didn't have any prisoners that he was aware of. Perhaps a theif had found his way into the hold and got trapper. Or maybe some spiders had burrowed into the keep. In all likeliness, though, it was likely just a drunken man on duty that needed reprimanding. With a bored sigh Trinbjol stopped concerning himself with it and tried to think of a warm fire and mead as he continued his night's watch.

* * *

Leif entered the dungeons and his breath caught in his throat. There was blood on the ground. A lot of it. Some of it was pooled in various places, it was smeared, as though whomever had been bleeding out had been dragged off. And there were little, bloody footprints all over the places. Leif knelt down, unable to discern what kind of footprints but he followed them to a hole in the wall, large enough for a man to walk through with ease, yet in a dark corner, easily out of sight.

"Shor's beard, when did this happen?" He demanded.

"We are not sure, sir." One of the guards replied. "I was coming down to relieve one of the guards when I saw... this."

"I want torches placed in front of the hole immediately." Leif ordered. "And wake the lads up. We need to find out what's down there and kill it. No one hurts my boys but me and the back of my hand."

"Aye, sir!" The guard anounced and ran upstairs. With the slam of the door, a new sound was heralded. It sounded like a whispered growl, or a dry cough, if a cough could have malice behind it. Leif drew his steel blade and stepped back into the light of the torches.

"Come on if you're coming, then!" He shouted. He heard quick footsteps coming through the tunnel. At first it sounded like one set, then two, then more than he could pick out.

* * *

Trinbjol glanced to the side as another Stormcloak came up to relieve him.

"Tis colder than my mother-in-law's heart tonight." The other guard said in greeting. Trinbjol smirked and handed the torch he'd been holding over to him.

"I swear it is some kind of foul magic at work, here." Trinbjol replied. "A mighty demon has cursed us with an ever uncomfortable posting."

The other guard chuckled and nodded as Trinbjol began walking off toward the barracks. Just as he got to the door the fort's horn was blown, almost causing him to jump out of his skin. One blow meant they were under attack. The second bellow told him that someone had breached the gates, but if there had been no attack to begin with, that mean the attack had come from inside. Sprinting as fast as he could without slipping on the ice covered stone of the fort, Trinbjol came to the door into the main fort and threw himself inside. He was greeted by half a dozen other guards, all sharing a similar confused look.

"Who blew the horn?" Trinbjol asked of one of them.

"Grunferth did." Replied a female Stormcloak, one hand around a two handed axe and the other on her hip. "And now she's dead."

"Any idea where the attack came from?" Another guard asked up. Trinbjol thought back to Leif Hammer-Hand and drew his waraxe.

"The dungeons!" He shouted and ran to the door that lead downward. "The commander was called down there to take a look at something, but I didn't hear what!"

The other guards followed suit and the lot of them halted in their tracks as they came to the blood filled dungeons. There were no bodies anywhere. Just pooled, drying blood and a lot of dropped weapons. Trinbjol knelt down and picked up the steel sword the commander had wielded. One of the guards cursed under his breath while another was unable to keep himself from vomiting at the horrific sight.

Trinbjol's attention shifted to a torch laying on the ground that was partially conealed. It was in a corner, so it should have been perfectly visible. When he strode over to pick it up, he took notice of the large whole in the wall, a tunnel leading down and away within.

"I think it's safe to assume our comrades are down here." Trinbjol said softly as he grabbed the torch and began walking into the tunnel.

"Are you mad?" One of the guards demanded. "There's fewer than a dozen of us left and we didn't even know something was happening."

"And there will be none of us left if we don't do something about it and let it keep sneaking up on us." Said the female guard.

"I'm of the same mind." Trinbjol replied and continued down into the winding tunnel.

* * *

Naspia tip toed into the main bedroom, careful not to wake hail who was curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed. Akonus was sitting at the edge of the bed, meditating as he often did before he went to sleep. Naspia moved on to the bed and crawled up behind him. He turned his head and she kissed him on the cheek again with a smirk.

"See?" Akonus began with a smile. "Completely appropriate away from public eyes."

"But Hail is here." Naspia pointed out with a laugh. "And there was no one out there, earlier."

"Hail is asleep, and he's also a hound." Akonus replied with a laugh as he turned to face her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You never know who could be out in the woods."

"You're a such a worrier." Naspia replied, rolling her eyes.

"Kind of hard not to worry when you're around." Akonus teased.

"I'll give you something to worry about!" Naspia threatened and tackled Akonus with a smirk.

* * *

Trinbjol moved into a large, cavernous opening the tunnel opened up into. There were odd, glowing mushrooms dotting the walls, providing some small measure of illumination but the torches carried by the Stormcloaks was still the greatest source of light. He stepped forward, following the bloody drag marks until he came to what looked like some sort of cage made out of mudcrab limbs. Big mudcrab limbs. Trinbjol pushed on the only thing that resembled a gate and the limbs flexed inward, making way for him to enter.

Stepping through the gate, Trinbjol heard a soft, guttural growl and his head snapped to the left, where the noise had come from. A thin, spindly, evil looking creature, pale as the snow and barely covered in some kind of leather shambled toward him at a strangely high speed. The Nord bashed the creature's attack away, noting that its blade resembled another insectoid limb. The creature attacked again but he side stepped it and drove his axe into its skull.

The foul little creature fell to the ground and Tribjol unwedged his axe just in time to hear someone shout 'look out!' An arrow caught him in the shoulder and forced Trinbjol to drop the torch. He could feel a sting creeping toward his chest and knew right away the arrowhead had been poisoned. All at once he felt the strength leave his fingers and he dropped his sword, too. Another of the nasty little pale things came at him with a shield and blade, but he was unable to defend himself. It struck him on the side of the head and Trinbjol's world went dark.


	2. Learning from the Past

"You're not relaxing." Akonus said as he sat in front of Naspia, crosslegged, his eyes shut. To the Dragonborn he looked like the epitome of calm and collected. Her inability to completely relax was only causing her to get more and more frustrated. "Just close your eyes and focus on your own breathing. Don't try to control it, just pay attention to it."

"That's easier said than done." Napsia snapped as she closed her eyes once more. A few months after the death of the vile mage Casius she had convinced Akonus to help her become more like him. It had started off with a simple 'why do your eyes glow' and ended with 'teach me how to do that!' Akonus had been agreeable, but he kept on warning Naspia that power had to be treated with temperance or she could become just like Casius.

"It's not." Akonus informed her matter-of-factly. "Nothing is easier. You are simply letting little things bother you because you have the time to contemplate them. Let go. If you cannot focus on your breathing, focus on something positive. Nothing exciting, just something peaceful."

Naspia made no response and tried to bring calming memories forward. That part was definitely easier said than done. Her childhood years were fleeting memories of Cyrodil, her teenage years had been spent fleeing Thalmor when her father had refused to give up Talos and her entire adult life had been devoted to saving Skyrim, many times over. He thoughts drifted to that final battle with Casius, where she had almost died. Surviving thanks to a Shout that she swore she would never use again, Naspia defeated the man who had stolen the power of Magnus himself. But as she continued down the memory, she found herself recalling days later when she simply stared out over the Sea of Ghosts, alone at first. Then Akonus had joined her and the two of them had talked about living peaceful lives. Her breathing began to slow, as did her heart as she began to relax more and more, recalling every detail of that day.

"Good." Akonus said, taking Naspia's attention away from the memory, but her calm remained. "Now, I want you to reach out. Not with your hands, but with your magicka. Feel the world around you."

"How do I do that?" She asked calmly, unsure what spell he wanted her to use.

"When you cast a spell you are bending the world to your will, even if it's only a small portion of it." The Akaviri replied softly. "When you create fire in your hands is no different from when you close another's wounds. Apply that to your whole body, and send it down, into the world beneath you."

Naspia struggled to grasp what he meant at first. She held her hands out in front of her, eyes still closed, and flames opened up in her palms. She allowed the fire to die out, but the magicka remained coursing around her, and she began concentrating on it until she could feel the immaterial encompassing her whole body. She then allowed it to expand away from her and as it began moving outward, she began to see the world around her, though it was all grey to her. As the magical bubble passed over Akonus she could see him, not physically, but the blue mass in front of her was definitely him.

"What... what is this?" Naspia asked curiously as she pushed further out.

"You are beginning to see the magic that flows through our world." Akonus replied. Slowly, quietly he crawled forward and gently placed his hand on Naspia's forehead. "Maintain this focus. Feel the world around you."

Naspia did as she was bade. She reached out far enough to see the essence of a large tree that had not been too far off. It was a bright, shimmering white with small, golden blurs moving all around it. She soon realized the golden blurs were squirrels, simply going about their innocent lives. Naspia couldn't help it anymore and opened her eyes. The tree was normal, now. Brown bark, green leaves and the animals within were difficult to see.

"Congratulations." Akonus told her and pulled his hand away from her with a smile. "You've seen something no one in this world has for thousands of years."

"Do I always have to relax like that in order to see in that way?" She asked, not feeling that it was a very practical thing to do.

"Not at all." Akonus replied, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "That particular ritual is merely a requirement for the enchantment."

"Enchantment?" Naspia asked as she took the hand offered and stood up. "But the Soul Cairn is still closed and we didn't have anything to put an enchantment into."

"You forget, we Akaviri had enchantments long before we knew soul stones existed." He replied, holding on to her hand and guiding her over to the small lake near by. Akonus let her go and gestured toward the smooth, glassy waters. The Dragonborn nodded her head and stepped to the edge of the water, peering downward. She canted her head to the side, confused by what she saw and so she knelt down for a better look. Her eyes were their usual green color, only they glowing, just as Akonus' blue eyes did. She covered her mouth in surprise and looked back up at the Akaviri who merely gestured outward. "An enchantment of the body is very different from an enchantment of a weapon or armor, especally as you know it compared to how I know it. To truly enchant something, you do not steal the soul of another and use it as fuel like you would for a torch. To truly enchant something, you must allow a part of yourself to meld with whatever it is."

"Meaning you've given me part of your soul?" Naspia asked in shock. Akonus chuckled and shook his head.

"Not quite. More like I've shared myself with you. My knowledge and my experience in a way that spoken or written words couldn't compare to. Now, look out into the waters and tell me what you see."

Naspia peered out into the lake and rotated her head, taking the whole view in. She looked back at Akonus and shrugged, seeing nothing but the smoothe surface of the lake. Akonus shook his head and gestured to a spot in the middle of the lake.

"Focus." He told her, offering no other guidance. Naspia looked out to where he pointed and tried to 'focus.' She was about to get fed up and ask Akonus to actually explain what she was supposed to do when she caught sight of something moving under the water's surface. Little golden blurs, swimming along without a care in the world. Judging by the way they moved, they were just regular fish, minding their own business. Then she caught sight of a small red blur darting for the group of golden ones. For a split second the red blur became black and just as soon became red again, with one of the golden blurs gone. At the top of the water she could see the red blur with tiny ribbons of blood floating to the top around it. It was a slaughterfish that had just made a meal of one of the trout. "Did you see it?"

"I saw... a slaughterfish attacking a trout." She said, brushing her bright red hair away from her face to get a better look. "But it was as though I could see it had intended to attack before it actually did."

"Quite." Akonus replied with a smirk. "The colors all have a meaning to them, though they are not always easy to interpret."

"The trout looked like glowing golden blurs and the slaughterfish was red."

"Gold is a representation of a creature being carefree and content." He replied and crossed his arms as he looked out oer the lake. "You'll find that most animals will appear to be gold when you use your eyes. Red is a representation of determination. The slaughterfish was hungry and had one thing on his mind. Feeding."

"But just before he attacked he turned black." Naspia replied, looking over at Akonus now. Where he had been blue when she'd been reaching out, he now seemed to be a silver color to her. She blinked a few times and the colors went away as she stopped putting forth the minimal effort.

"While most colors are representations and can be masked fairly well if what you're looking at is good at hiding their intentions, black and white will always show themselves. Black is aggression and will always show when someone or something means to harm another, just before they actually do. White, on the other hand is purity. White shows that whatever you're looking at has no intentions of any kind. It is simply existing. I've never met a man, mer or beast that was white to my eyes."

"What about trees?" She asked, pointing to the one she'd seen.

"Indeed, a tree is simply existing." Akonus replied with a laugh.

"So it was thanks to this power that you were able to fight off an army by yourself and hold your own against Casius?"

"Partially." The Akaviri replied. "But the majority of that was experience, as well as enchantments of the rest of the body."

"Meaning you enchanted your muscles so that you could break my bones with a single slap, even though you were hardly bigger than me?" She asked, punching him in the shoulder with a laugh.

"Yes." Akonus said with a smirk. "I enchanted my body with speed, strength and stamina that only other Akaviri have ever possessed after the Ehlnofey. Before I teach you how to do that, however, I'd like you to get more used to your eyes and how to use them properly."

"Does it drain my magicka like a spell would?" Naspia asked curiously as she focused once more and watched a rabbit, highlighted in gold, running around the shrubbery.

"The fact that you youngsters cast spells that tire you is foreign to me." Akonus replied. "Perhaps I'll teach you how to properly use magic before we worry about how hard you can punch."

"What do you mean?" Naspia asked, once more. "How am I doing it improperly?"

"Because you are using your own, limited magical abilities to cast your spells. If I did that I would never have survived in my time. We Akaviri drew on the magical essence of Nirn, as taught by the Dragon Father himself."

"I don't get it." Naspia stated, throwing her hands up.

"With time, you will." Akonus told her, ruffling her bright red hair. Naspia swatted his hand away, at which Akonus chuckled and began walking toward the road.

"Where are you going?" The Dragonborn inquired, following closely behind him.

"I feel like walking. Care to join me?"

Naspia shrugged and walked along the road at Akonus' side, curious as to where he intended to end up.

* * *

Trinbjol awoke in a fit and scrambled on the ground for his axe. When it was nowhere to be found he looked up at the people around him. There were three guards that he recognized from the fort, all of whom looked utterly traumatized. Trinbjol felt dizzy, certain that he'd not only lost a fair amount of blood, but that the poison had taken a real toll on him. His limbs were weak and he could barely concentrate. The others weren't speaking, he realized. None of them were even looking at him as he shuffled around, attempting to stand up. Their eyes were all fixated on something beyond the insectoid cage that he just realized he was trapped within.

Peering out, over the edge, Trinbjol could see a table with lots of sharp instruments and red chunks scattered throughout. It didn't take him long to realize he was looking at a dissection table. It was only when he made this realization that he noticed one of the foul monsters heading toward the cage. It pushed the gate open and grabbed Sibil, the woman who'd been swinging a battle axe around earlier. She didn't scream or try to resist at all, to Trinbjol's confusion. It was like she was too traumatized to move away. When she made it to the table the twisted things strapped her down and picked up their sharp instruments.

Then the screaming started. Trinbjol found himself unable to look away from the terrible scene as Sibil was slowly, agonizingly cut open until the wirey beasts pulled pieces out of her and began feasting on it. Then Trinbjol finally managed to look down at the ground, covering his ears, wishing Sibil would just die already and cease her wials of pain.

* * *

"Akonus, this road is only going to lead to Morthal if we stay on it." Napsia told him, crossing her arms.

"I'm well aware." The Akaviri replied, gently nudging the Dragonborn with his elbow.

"But what about Lydia?"

"She's a grown woman who can take care of herself." Akonus said with a laugh. "And the only time she gets to herself is when we're gone."

"Having time to herself and being by herself are two different things." Naspia corrected.

"I may or may not have told her I had intended to take a little trip today." Akonus said with a smirk. "And Vilkas might also have been informed of this."

"Did... did you play matchmaker for them!?" The redhead asked in complete shock.

"Of course not. The match was already made, I just gave them an opportunity to spend some time together without us there."

"And Hail?"

"There's plenty of smoked salmon jerky for Hail to eat while we're gone. It's not like we're leaving them completely alone and unable to fend for themselves forever."

Akonus knelt down, causing Naspia to stop in her tracks and whip around. Akonus was hunched over a spot of wet dirt in the road, staring at it like he was able to pick something up from it.

"What's going on?" She asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Oh, just picking you up." Akonus said, grabbing a twig from the ground. "See? A stick in the mud."

Naspia's jaw dropped, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. When she realized he had reversed her joke from the day before onto her, she smacked him on the shoulder and laughed. She hadn't expected him to try and grab her and she began running down the road, laughing as she went. She'd only gotten a few meters away when she realized Akonus wasn't fllowing her any more. She back tracked a bit but didn't see him anywhere.

"Akonus?" She called out, looking into the treeline. "Akonus where did you go?"

When no repsonse came, Naspia focused her eyes and looked out into the woods again. The trees took on their white highlight, the small animals standing out as gold. Then she managed to pick out a larger grey highlight and began to move toward it. When she met up with the grey cloud, she saw she was right in thinking it was Akonus, but something was off. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he glanced at her with a concerned look on his face.

"What is it?" She asked and then looked up at the massive stone fort that was Snowhawk. "Can you see something?"

"No." Akonus replied. "That's the problem. Wasn't this place manned by Stormcloaks when you oversaw the peace treaty?"

Naspia nodded, remembering now that this was an appointed Stormcloak garrison. She looked along the walls, but no colors stood out to her. Confusion set in and she began walking toward the entrance.

"Take care, Naspia." Akonus warned as he followed her up. "If there is danger up ahead I don't want you to think you can rely on your new eyes."

"I understand." Naspia replied as she made her way to the main entrance of the fort.


	3. A Mind Lost

The screaming had long since stopped but all Trinbjol could think about was the horrible sounds Sibil made as she was slowly killed and devoured. He wasn't sure which was worse, the agonized wailing as she was cut apart or the horrible, wet gurgling noises she made just before she finally faded. What he was certain of was that the sounds remained and it was all he could do not to slam his head against the stone floor to shake the noises out.

Another group of twisted, pale monsters came to the gate, this time grabbing up one of the other guards. This time Trinbjol refused to look up, even as the screaming started. He simply fell on his knees and squeezed his hands against his ears, trying to crush the sound. It was no use. He could still hear the man screaming.

When the sickening, bubbling gurgles came, Trinbjol snickered for a second. He wasn't sure why but something about the dismal situation had suddenly turned humerous. Perhaps it was the irony that he'd fought against Imperials, then against a brass army lead by a man who'd stolen the powers of a god. And in surviving all of that to the extent of becoming allied with former enemies, he was going to die, down in a hole in the ground in agony while frail, mishapen monsters ate him alive.

His snickering became a chuckle, and then eventually a full, boisterous laugh.

* * *

Naspia stepped into the main hall of Fort Snowhawk and looked around curiously. Back before the end of the war this place had been home to necromancers and their abominations. Since then it had be taken and garrisoned by Stormcloaks. And there should have been a lot of them, too. All she found was an overturned table, some broken bottles and a greeting of pure silence.

"A battle was fought here." Akonus whispered as he stepped further in.

"You can see that?" Naspia asked as she focused her eyes inside. There was absolutely nothing but Akonus' grey form.

"No, I can smell blood, though." Akonus told her and pointed to the stairwell leading into the dungeons. "It's coming from down there."

"So your nose is enchanted, too?" The Dragonborn asked as she followed the Akaviri into the stairs.

"I don't imagine you linger on battlefields too often." Akonus stated. "You don't notice it when you're fighting. You're too busy. but in the aftermath of the battle the smell is almost overpowering."

Naspia decided not to continue the line of conversation and followed Akonus quietly as they wound down into the dungeons. The floor was dark and sticky, like someone had spilled mead all over it, except the smell, as Akonus described, wsa blood, not mead. Naspia looked all around the room, seeing fallen weapons and shields scattered everywhere, most of thme stuck to the congealed blood on the ground. Naspia lifted a hand up and conjured a blade from Oblivion, seeing as she'd not carried Dawnbreaker since the Battle of Windhelm. Akonus seemed content to use his hands if a fight occured. No sooner had the spell been cast then a small, throaty bark was heard coming from a distant corner.

"What was that?" Akonus asked curiously.

"Falmer..." Naspia replied, a twinge of nervousness in her voice.

* * *

Trinbjol watched as many of the gnarled little creatures ran off past the gorey dining hall. Two of the things in the room left, leaving only the last one. Drawing a small dagger, it opened the cage door and began approaching Trinbjol. The Nord simply stared at him and laughed. When the creature seemed to be riled up by his outburst, it made to grab his wrist. Tribjol grabbed its wrist instead, threw it to the ground and snapped its elbow backward, causing it to growl.

"Oh there once was a hero named Raggnar the Red..." He cooed as he ripped the dagger from the creatures hands and began stabbing it in the back, over and over again. "Something...something... flopped on the floor!"

Trinbjol laughed as the foul creatures blood squirted him in the face and stood up, away from the limp corpse. He walked to where the last of the guards had been taken and picked apart and set hand on the dead man's head.

"If you didn't like the song you could have just said so." He told the dead body and picked up a blade that one of the monsters had left behind. "I suppose I'll have to go find a more appreciative audience."

Trinbjol left the gruesome scene, humming a tuneless song to himself as he dragged the tip of the sword along the walls.

* * *

"Care to elaborate?" Akonus asked, hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching. There certianly were a lot of them.

"Falmer used to be called Snow Elves." Naspia replied as she heard the growling get closer. "Think of them like goblins. Only meaner."

"Goblins?" Akonus asked.

"You'll see them in half a second!" She replied just as one of them lunged out of the hole Napsia just learned was in the wall across from her. She'd forgotten to unfocus her eyes as the falmer, highlighted in red ran at her with three more close behind it. As the thing shifted from red to black, Naspia's attention was on the weapon as it came down at her. Swinging the enchanted blade upward, she carved right through its wrist and then kicked the wounded beast back.

"Well, don't they look wretched." Akonus remarked as a pair of the came at him. He grabbed the shaft of an axe as it came down on him and wrenched it from the falmer's grasp. Swinging his arm back he struck the twisted little creature in the chest so hard the handle of the axe became inbedded inside of it. The other swung in at him from the side but Akonus twisted out of the way and struck the falmer in the throat with the side of his hand, crushing its windpipe.

"They're horrible little terrors." Naspia muttered as she hacked down the last one attacking her. More shuffling could be heard coming from the tunnel and she prepared to counter-charge but Akonus grabbed her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Don't you think we should break away and let the Stormcloaks know they lost an entire fort to monsters in the dirt?" He asked as he pointed his palm toward the hole in the wall. Akous had never touched her while casting a spell before, not that it ever really seemed necessary, but with his hand on her shoulder Naspia could actually feel something shift through Akonus as it reverberated off his hand against her. All within the span of a second or two the feeling came, went and then a cone of bright blue fire speared into the hole. "Come on, killing these things isn't going to mean anything if the Stormcloaks don't retake this place and prevent it from happening again."

"Right." Naspia replied as she peered into the smouldering tunnel. Charred bones and scorched stone was her only greeting, at first. Then a smell caught her and almost made her gag. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

* * *

Trinbjol had found his way back to the cavernous opening where he'd first been rendered unconscious. The half closest to him looked as it had before, albeit with a lot less blood. The path closest to the exit, however, was blackened with little embers sizzling and cracking the stones. One falmer was still moving, its lower half nearly burnt away but whatever had attacked it. Trinbjol stepped up to the creature and knelt beside it.

"What happened, my friend?" He asked in a soothing voice. The falmer swiped at him, scratching his face with its filthy claws. Trinbjol laughed and grabbed its hand, breaking each finger individually. "You always were the clever one!"

The madness that was overcoming Trinbjol had not been subtle, but he still hadn't ever noticed it until it had fully taken ahold of him. As the falmer tried to get away, the mind shattered Nord grabbed it by the throat and pressed its face against the smouldering ground. The falmer shrieked and reached up, digging its nails into Trinbjol's leg which scored more cackling laughter from the Nord as he lifted that leg up and drove it down on to the falmer's head.

Trinbjol marched past the corpse, swinging the chitinous blade to and fro as he whisteled to himself. He could feel the heat of the burning stone beneath his boots but paid it little mind as he came out into the dungeons of For Snowhawk and looked at the burnt, pooled blood that had since dried on the ground. Striding over to a steel blade, he jammed the bone sword into the coagulated blood and pried his late commander's weapon from the ground and gave it a few swings.

"With this lute I shall play songs that will force greatness upon the masses!" He shouted, cackling as he headed toward the stairs. The sound of heavy doors closing caught his ear and he sprinted up the stairs, taking the first few steps uneasily as the congealed blood caused his boots to stick ever so slightly. Making it to the top and into the main hall, he went to push the doors open but found that they were barred shut from hte other side. With a roar of frustration, the mind shattered Nord turned and headed for the ladder leading to the ramparts above.

Once he was topside he looked out, catching sight of two figures, a tiny red headed woman and a small raven haired man walking away from the fort. Trinbjol looked around and took notice of a a way to climb down from the side of the tower and slowly mad ehis descent to the ground. Five feet from the bottom he hit a patch of ice and slipped, landing hard enough on his back to knock the wind out of him and cause his ears to ring. As he stood up, the ringing still very present, he pulled his plundered blade out of its sheath and began swiping the tower, dulling the blade horribly before sheathing it again.

"I think you've learned your lesson." He said with a nod and turned to follow the two who had attempted to lock him away. "Now we play with new friends!"

Just as Trinbjol was about to chase off after the pair he watched walk off, he caught sight of a battleaxe being used to hold the main doors shut. As Trinbjol looked at it the image of Sibil popped into his mind, standing triumphantly with axe in hand. The image was fleeting, however, and was soon replaced by dark sillouhettes in fiery backdrop, one being torn apart and screaming. Trinbjol fell to his knees and clutched the side of his head as what felt like an eternity of nightmarish visions flooded into his head. He was broken from his traumatizing recent memory as the snow beneath him melted and soaked through his pants to his knees. The biting cold snapped him back into reality, but his mind continued to stay lost.

Forgetting what direction the pair he'd seen walking away had gone in Trinbjol decided to simply follow the road. As he made his trek down the winding, icy dirt path a voice caught his attention. It wasn't one he recognized and he could barely hear it, let alone understand it. Whatever the voice belonged to, though, it sounded rather excited. Trinbjol's mind immediately changed as he turned east. He wasn't exactly sure where the voice was leading him, but he figured there wasn't much of a reason not to check it out.

* * *

**Not really sure why but I'm running head first into some serious writer's block. Ah well, got the point across that things are being set in motion. :/**


	4. Unfortunate Meetings

Morthal hadn't changed much since the war, as far as Naspia was concerned. Other than their slightly cheerier disposition after the incident with the vampires in a cave not far off. No, Morthal was still pretty much the same, save a few new faces, mainly being the refugees of Windhelm who chose to start new lives elsewhere, rather than try and rebuild what was lost.

"Dragonborn, what are you doing here?" A town guard asked in general surprise.

"We came to speak to the Jarl." She replied, raising an eyebrow at the question. "Am I no longer welcome here?"

"Of course not, Dragonborn." The guard replied, gesturing toward the longhouse. "It's just no one has seen nor heard of any new exploits of yours in some time. What is your business with the Jarl?"

"A little trouble at Fort Snowhawk." Akonus informed the man as they approached the Jarl's longhouse. The guard shrugged and opened the door for them before returning to his patrol. Akonus looked across the firepit at the elderly woman sitting in her throne, obviously deep in thought.

"Dragonborn?" She crowed as she peered across the room at them. "And you brought the Akaviri with you, too, huh?"

"He's no threat to you, Jarl Idgrod." Naspia replied, resting her arm on his shoulder. "I've got him all under control."

Naspia smirked when Akonus rolled his eyes and approached the Jarl. She noticed, as she looked around, that the Imperial representative was still around, likely just to ensure there was a presence in the area.

"And what brings two fabled warriors here today?" Idgrod asked non-challantly. "Do you bring word that a new apocalypse is coming, and that it starts with Morthal?"

"Not quite." Naspia replied with a light shake of her head. "We were unsure of who would be responsible for the security of Fort Snowhawk, but the entire keep has been abandoned."

"Abandoned?" The legate echoed, stepping out, into the main room. "Surely there's a mistake. There's... there's no possible way the Stormcloaks stationed there would just leave their posts."

"They didn't abandon their posts, legate." The Akaviri corrected. "The fort itself is abandoned because the men and women guarding it are dead. Or they soon will be."

"Please, by the Eight, just say what needs to be said." Idgrod demanded.

"The Falmer came up from underneath the keep, Jarl Idgrod." Napsia stated carefully. "Akonus was the one who realized no one was manning the walls of the fort, so we went in to see if everything was alright. We found a lot of blood down in the dengeons, along with dropped weapons. No bodies to speak of, though. Then the Falmer attacked us from a fairly well hiden hole in the wall."

"Falmer?" The legate asked. "You mean those little goblin things?"

"Yes." Akonus replied, crossing his arms. "We killed the ones that attacked us and barred the gates, trapping them inside. We figured you could use a warning about this. Maybe send more men in to retake the fort."

* * *

Trinbjol had been wandering through the woods for a few hours now and was, for all intents and purposes, well and truly lost. The voice continued to call out to him, screaming, laughing and bellowing at random times. The voice itself finally quieted down when he came to a cave. Around the entrance he could clearly see bodies, some armored in leathers and furs, some wrapped in cloaks and one with robes like a mage but with armor underneath. Trinbjol knelt down next to the odd one out and grabbed a small necklace off the half frozen corpse's neck. An amulet of Stendarr. With a chuckle Trinbjol drew his blade, tossed the amulet aside and walked into the cave. The voice returned, but this time it was clear.

"Ah, there ya are, mortal!" The voice shouted gleefully. "I've been trying to get yer attention for quite some time, now. Or maybe for a few moments only. Who's counting? Actually, I do believe that's Haskill's job. Anyway, I see you've made it to my lovely vacation home of... that cave. Do us a favor and get rid of the party crashers who seem hell bent on ruining the occasion for my guests."

"I want dinner!" Trinbjol shouted and ran into the cave. He could hear voices ahead of him questioning where the voice had come from. As he sprinted through the dark tunnel, leading into the well lit room before him Trinbjol leaped from the raised rock face, landing on top of a Vigilant of Stendarr and plunging the steel sword of his into the man's chest. "On second thought, I'd like to start with desert!"

"It's another murderous lunatic!" One of the other Vigilants shouted and charged at Trinbjol. The mind shattered Nord pulled his blade from the fresh corpse and blocked the attack, grabbing up the fallen mace and shattering his attacker's shin. The Vigilant fell to the ground with a loud yelp and Trinbjol brought the mace down on his head to silence him.

"That's it, you're dead!" Shouted the last of the Vigilants in the room. The Breton swung a warhammer at Trinbjol but he was more than able to roll out of the way. "Hold still you rat!"

"Only if you sing me a lullaby, my sweet!" He shouted back, swinging both weapons at the man without any attempt of skill. The Vigilant stumbled under the tireless barrage and lost his footing. As the man fell flat on his back Trinbjol jammed his blade into the Vigilant's wrist, pinning him there. The man shouted in pain and began cursing at Trinbjol as the Nord lifted up the fallen warhammer. "Bring me my golden slippers!"

"No, don't!" The Vigilant shouted as Trinbjol brought the hammer up and then back down on the man's chest, leaving it embedded within his ribcage. The Vigilant tried to breathe and soon found himself drown as the blood pooled in his lungs. Trinbjol let go of the hammer and proceeded further into the cave, weaponless at this point, following the sound of a final, concerned voice.

* * *

"So the frail little monsters managed to take the keep right out from under them?" One of the guards demanded as the legate retold the tale. "What were they doing up there?"

"They were ambushed." Naspia told the assembled soldiers, holding her hands up in an attempt to quite them. "That's what the Falmer do. Skulk about in the shadows and lash out at people when they don't expect it."

"Well we'll just have to return the favor, then!" Another guard shouted, getting a roar in response from the rest of the guards.

"Alright men, you have your orders." The legate stated with a nod. "The Dragonborn has agreed to lead you to the keep and help you in retaking it. Show those knuckle dragging cave rats how we handle situations like this!"

The guards cheered once more and as soon as Naspia and Akonus began walking down the road they formed up in neat columns and marched in behind them. As much as the Dragonborn would hate to admit it, part of her had missed the feeling of a blade in her hands. Conjured weapons didn't hold a candle to the beauty of Dawnbreaker, but it still brought back some of the good feelings she had, fighting against evil monsters and vanquishing them.

* * *

The Vigilant had her war axe drawn and ready, her back to the shrine at the end of the room. Trinbjol looked down at the Imperial woman and waved politely, as though greeting a friend. When she didn't wave back he shrugged and slowly walked down the steps, leading to the shrine.

"So how many of you did it take to kill my men up there, hm?" The Vigilant demanded, raising her axe as Trinbjol got closer.

"All of us." Trinbjol replied, pointing to himself. "Are you the voice? The one who promised me dinner? Of course not, you don't sound like him. In fact, you're not a him... Are you?"

"There is no voice here, lunatic!" She snarled, dropping into a defensive stance. "Merely one loyal servant of the Divines and a murderer and if you think I'm worried just because you managed to kill my fellows, you're mistaken."

"I thought I was mistaken once." Trinbjol replied casually as he walked around the Vigilant, giving her a wide berth as he approached the shrine. "But I was wrong about that."

The Vigilant didn't attack, trying not to tempt fate and face someone who just dispatched three of her comrades if she didn't have to. She simply watched the insane Nord looking up at the shrine of Sheogorrath. His hand came up and wrapped around the cane the statue leaned on.

"Can I borrow this?" He asked of the statue with a pleading look in his eyes. "It's rather dapper. Really? You mean it!? Thanks!"

Before the Imperial could ask what the raving lunatic was on about her jaw dropped as the Nord pulled at the statue and came away with a staff in his hands, while the stone cane was still right where it was supposed to be. The Vigilant took a step back, holding the axe out in front of her instinctively. She couldn't be positive of what power the staff held but if it was Daedric then it couldn't be good.

"A question, I present to thee, m'lady." Trinbjol stated, turning back to the Vigilant and bowing ever so slightly. "Do you have the means to make the dinner I was promised? Or are we wasting one another's time?"

"I..." The Vigilant stammered, partially unsure of how to proceed with a man like this and partially distracted by the unknown staff pointed directly at her. "I'm afraid I don't have anything with which to cook."

"What a shame." Trinbjol muttered as he turned to leave. "Oh, the voice told me he wants you to go."

"I'm in the middle of purifying this offensive homage." The Vigilant stated as she crept up behind Trinbjol now that his back was turned. "I can't leave until I'm finished. I won't be long."

"I suppose that's fair." He replied, whipping around and thrusting the staff in the woman's direction. She fell backwards just as a bolt of purple energy flew forth from the tip of the staff, striking the axe in her hand. The weapon immediately exploded in a shower of golden coins, raining down on the two of them. "Now you've gone and made a mess."

The Vigilant attempted to crawl backwards as Trinbjol approached and when her back met with the shring of Sheogorrath she desperately shielded her face with her hands, even though she was positive it wouldn't save her. The insane Nord pushed her hands to the side and knelt down next to her, placing a free hand gently on her shoulder.

"There, there." He cooed, gently rubbing her shoulder with his thumb. "We've all had a rough day. Me with no dinner. You with no dance. It'll be okay, though."

"You're a mad man." The Vigilant snapped and brought her iron plated fist into the Nord's face. Trinbjol recoled with a laugh, dropping the Daedric weapon as he fell backwards. The Imperial quickly grabbed the staff and pointed it at the Nord just as he was standing up. The innocent smile peeking out through the blood soaked mouth gave the Vigilant a nervous shiver. "May Stendarr's mercy be upon you, for the Vigil has none to spare."

The Vigilant thrust the staff the same way Trinbjol had done earlier and was rewarded with a sharp, lingering pain that caused her to drop the weapon in turn. Trinbjol stepped forward and planted a boot in her ribs before picking the staff back up and giving it a concerned look. When the Vigilant looked back up at him he drove the end of the staff into her face, breaking her nose instantly. The Vigilant tried to defend herself but unarmed as she was the Nord easily overcame her tactic of covering her face with her arms. Again and again he brought the staff against the woman's face until she lay in a heap on the ground, wimpering. The Nord grabbed a handufl of hair from the back of her head and forced her to stand. He looked down at the blood smeared, nearly toothless grimmace of the Vigilant, one eye swollen shut and the other constantly blinking away blood that rolled down from a cut at the top of her forehead.

"If I may be so bold..." Trinbjol murmured, a blush highlighting his cheeks. "You look absolutely breath taking."

The Vigilant struck Trinbjol in the stomach and the Nord stepped back, coughing a bit as he brought the staff down on the back of the woman's head. The Vigilant fell down, barely able to remain conscious and looked up in terror as the Nord thrust the staff at her again. Trinbjol watched as the woman instantly shifted into the form of a rabbit.

"Oh boy oh boy!" He shouted, grabbing the turned rabbit by the scruff behind its neck. "Now... are you food or a new friend?"

Trinbjol stared at the rabbits bruised face and missing teeth and sighed. He carried her back to one of the dead Vigilants and grabbed up the knapsack he carried. Dumping the contents out onto the ground, Trinbjol gently set the rabbit inside and left a small opening for her to look out of.

"I can't eat you..." He muttered with a sigh. "You tell the best jokes. Let's go get you fixed up, hm?"

With that the insane Nord carried the transformed Vigilant out of the tunnel, the mystical staff in his hands, and began whistling a sone that had no tune whatsoever.

* * *

Fort Snowhawk was just as abandoned as when Naspia and Akonus had left it. No Falmer stirred in the shadows. There weren't even any signs of them in the tunnels. The guards had all begun complaining, expecting a fight only to have to work on sealing the tunnel up.

"We'll need some heavy stones to get that thing sealed properly." One of them said.

"Yeah, and there's plenty outside." Replied another.

"How are we supposed to get them in here, exactly?" Asked the first.

"The hard way." A third guard stated.

"Well while you figure that all out I'm going to have another look inside the tunnel." Akonus told them as he walked in without warning. Naspia ran up behind him and followed him inside, tugging at his shoulder. "What? You don't want to come down?"

"Of course I don't!" She replied as though the quesiton had been insane. "They're..."

"Scary?" Akonus teased, catching a slap on the arm. "Terrifying, then."

"They're creepy." Naspia said, glaring at the Akaviri. "And I'd rather not antagonize them anymore."

"Then let's take care not to antagonize them." He replied, stepping into the massive opening. The whole tunnel had been scorched black by the fire spell he'd cast the day before and there were charred corpses all over the place, which didn't surprise him in the least. What did surprise the Akaviri was the furthest Falmer corpse. It's legs had been caught in the inferno, that much was certain, and its face had gotten some burns, too, but it wasn't scorched black as if it had been directly exposed.

Akonus flipped the dead Falmer over and saw that the back of its skull had been caved in and its arm was severed.

"What are you looking at?" Napsia asked, tiptoeing around the dead Falmer as if they were going to jump back up and attack her.

"Something killed this Falmer after my spell wounded it." He replied and began walking further in.

"Akonus?" Napsia hissed. "By Talos, do you have to go farther into this nightmare world?"

"I just want to see if..." Akonus stopped when he came into a new room. There was a decomposing body strapped to a table, its innards removed. Dozens of serrated, blade-like devices were scattered on a table next to it. Naspia covered her mouth and nose, the smell nearly overpowering her. Akonus knelt down next to another Falmer corpse and inspected it. "This one's arm is snapped... and there's multiple stab wounds in its back."

"You think someone came in here after us?" Naspia asked, looking down at the Falmer from a distance.

"No, otherwise why leave the axe in the main gate, barring it shut? I think one of the guards survived and killed the two Falmer we found just now."

"Where would he be now, though?"

"I couldn't say." Akonus replied and shook his head as his eyes drifted back to the gruesome scene on the table. "If I had to wager any sort of guess I would assume they grew desperate when we barred the doors and tried to find a way out further in the tunnels."

"Poor soul..." Naspia whispered and grabbed Akonus' arm. "Come on, let's get out of here before any of them show up alive."

Akonus nodded and the pair headed back for the keep, though Akonus took one last look back at the slaughtered guard. He was tempted to stay down, underground and slaughter the wicked creatures like lambs, but ultimately Naspia was in charge and she had no desire to stay.


End file.
